Winter Readiness in the Stateline

Its always important to keep items such as a blanket, extra clothes, boots, candle, matches in the car. and of course a cell phone will come in handy in those situations as well.

ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- While the snow may be lacking thus far this winter, it’s never too soon to be prepared. We looked at how Stateline residents and municipalities are preparing for winter—whenever it finally arrives.

We asked residents what they thought of the temperate weather.

Resident Grant Davis said, "Not liking it too much. No snow yet. I don't get to have fun."

While snow enthusiasts like Davis can't wait for our first good snow storm, its important to switch our minds into winter drive mode once the flakes start falling

Illinois State Police Trooper Kevin Johnson said, "An increase in accidents obviously occurs more when it snows. Obviously people don't slow down. Your stopping distance takes a lot longer to stop when the road is covered with ice and snow."

When it comes to keeping the roads ice and snow free the Winnebago County Highway Department is actually a fan of big snows storms. They say they would rather deal with the aftermath of a few large storms in stead of frequent smaller snowfalls.

Dan Davis from the Winn. Co. Highway Department said, "My preference is if you're going to give me 60 inches of snowfall give me six 10 inch snow falls so then we can deal with those."

Regardless of the amount of snowfall we encounter this season clean up will still take up to two to three days.

Davis said, "You have we treat each storm about the same, but when you get a number of two-to-three and two-to-four inch snow storms you tend to go through your materials a lot faster."

While our sluggish start may be well behind last year's pace in terms of snowfall, winter will inevitably make its mark on the Stateline.

One thing to take away from last year's snowfall and the blizzard in particular is to always keep emergency supplies in our vehicles because a situation with car trouble becomes a lot worse when temperatures fall below freezing.

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